2018 / 12 / 15

From Tennis to eSports - Sansen Talks of Her Transition

Reported by Newtalk JournalistYu-Hsuan Hung"ZOWIE DIVINA PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) International Women's Invitational Tournament sees advanced 48 athletes from Europe, America, and Asia-Pacific competing on the same grounds after the preliminaries. These players will participate in an offline finals at Shanghai, China from December 13th to 16th, showcasing the most professional women's eSport competition to the world."There's a particularly tall athlete that towers over the others at this year's ZOWIE DIVINA. She is always radiant with a confident smile, and her positive attitude has warmed the hearts of all the competitors like the sun. Her name is Sansen, but her real name, Sanda Mamić, is even more popular because she achieved international fame as a Croatian tennis player. She once beat Taiwanese tennis player Latisha Chan during the 2008 Bangalore Open in India, was ranked among the top 100 in women's tennis for singles, and has even won the Championship for ITF three times.

Sansen's memory of that match is still fresh, "Actually, I thought it would be a very difficult match. I didn't know Latisha at that time, and I remember that the Bangalore Open's courts were outdoors and hardcourt and since I'm a leftie, these two factors were very advantageous against Asian players. So I beat her 2:6 and 2:6 with my serve and my offensive style." Having embarked on a career as a professional tennis player since the age of 19, she still remembers every single match. But after a decade, she has resolutely embraced retirement and completed her college education with a scholarship.

At that time, Sansen thought she was getting older and wanted to do things that would make her happy. "I often played video games to decompress while I was a professional tennis player. Though my ping was super high using hotel WiFi, I still loved to play. At that time, I loved to play Warcraft and League of Legends (LoL), and I particularly loved to play mid-lane or ADC (attack damage carry) roles in LoL. I love positions that deal a high-damage output, as I love being able to inflict deadly hits. But whether I could successfully carry is a whole other story." Sansen laughs as she finishes. Nowadays, she is a full-time streamer who usually plays PUBG, LoL, and Dead by Daylight.

Transitioning from traditional sports to eSports, Sansen has achieved stellar performance with her ability to focus. When asked whether there are any secrets to her success, she laughs, "I think it's the same for everything you do: you need to love what you're doing. You will only find meaning in what you do when there is passion, and when you enjoy the moment. It's as simple as that."

When asked about the differences between traditional sports and eSports, Sansen says that she believes that eSports is a fairly young industry, but the two are essentially the same: "Both eSports and traditional sports require high levels of focus, lots of training, and instructions from coaches. You need to keep your mental health in check. All of these qualities are the same. Currently, the eSports industry is gradually developing and a substitute system and joint competition structure have also surfaced. These developments will continue, so I am fairly optimistic about the growth of eSports."

But as the eSports industry structure has become increasingly complete, Sansen believes that it's entirely possible for eSports to be included in the Olympics. She also fully supports this movement: "From the angle of athletics, eSports does need to improve in terms of rules and structure, and many people still don't fully understand it. Some of them don't even see eSports as a competitive sport. But I think if you're willing to take the time to understand it, you will realize that they're essentially the same. For instance, chess, archery, and car racing are competitive sports that are more static but require skills and experience. This is also true for eSports."

However, Sansen also believes that the lifespan of eSports athletes will become an important issue, "For traditional sports, as long as athletes are well-trained, they can play for 5 to 10 years or even longer. This is because we will stop every time we train for around three hours. So if we take better care of ourselves, the lifespan of an athlete can be extended as well. But this is different for eSports. They spend dozens of hours in front of a computer every day, leading to excessive fatigue. It isn't like what others assume: 'they're just sitting there and playing video games so they aren't as tired.' It is true they are all fairly young, but their professional lifespan is fairly short. This is particularly true for athletes in FPS games."

On whether there is any difference between the performance of male and female eSports athletes, Sansen says: "Of course I think there is a difference, because men typically have better physique and stamina. If you think about it, don't they separate tennis into men's and women's as well? This is because there is a difference between stamina and build. Men also react faster due to their hormones, so they often perform better in FPS games than girls. But in terms of strategic execution and understanding of the game, I think it's the same for the guys and the girls. Therefore, I don't think there is much of a difference between guys and girls for games like League of Legends or Warcraft."

As a female, Sansen has also been subjected to a variety of mysterious harassments while playing. When she turns on her mic, they will first guess that Sansen is a twelve-year-old boy, but after conversing for a while, they will gradually see how wrong they've been, and that Sansen is a girl. At this time, Sansen gives an ambiguous answer, and they would become very excited. "Their first question is often, 'Are you a girl?' Then their second question is 'Are you married?' What's your Instagram account?' Can I exchange contact information with you?' As if these are all very important to the game itself. Of course, I have also met men who look down on women, but I would definitely give such jerks a lesson with my guns."

As a female player, more often than not Sansen would meet male players who want to take care of her. Sansen complains: "They always say, 'We need to protect you because you're a girl.' Then they would start bossing me around in game, asking me to follow them and to obey their orders, asking me to do this and to do that. And I say hey! I know where to go, okay? I'm also a professional gamer!"

Sansen abruptly changes the subject, and acknowledges that this is often a problem that females run into at the workplace. "I used to be in a marketing role on a football team. And it wasn't until I started working that I realized how difficult it was for girls to get promoted. You need to do more to prove yourself because you're a girl. Though we're not biologically inferior because we're girls, society always tends to see you as weaker. They would even think that you would get promoted for batting your eyelashes or giving a flirtatious smile. But this isn't true. The glass ceiling does exist, and girls need to fight even harder to get what they want."

Coming to a tournament exclusively tailored for women, Sansen is more than thrilled and says that she has met many friends here who she first met during live streaming. It's heartwarming to see them in person, and she is also excited to meet many professional female eSports athletes here. "I am so honored to be a part of this tournament. ZOWIE DIVINA PUBG International Women's Invitational has truly opened a brand-new door. This is a tournament exclusively designed for women, and more women will know about this arena. I also hope that more sponsors will learn of this tournament through this opportunity, so that more female athletes will be granted equal opportunity, giving them a suitable environment so that they could realize their potential and make a living from eSports. This will also in turn create more high-level tournaments such as ZOWIE DIVINA."

Though PUBG is the first FPS game Sansen has come across, and she didn't even know what DPI was when she first started, she has grown to be a skilled shooter and an advanced player who rivals the other competitors. Her growth further demonstrates her passion for gaming. Sansen resolutely states, "There will always be an open door for you as long as you strive to pursue your dream. People nowadays give up too easily, and our fast food culture keeps on distracting people, making them lose focus. So you need to always maintain your faith. People can't always rely on their luck, but when an opportunity presents itself, you need to be constantly prepared and to give it your best shot."